Is this the END of my VEG GARDEN? Look how quickly RATS and POSSUMS took over | Gardening Australia
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- Опубліковано 26 тра 2024
- I'm feeling completely defeated this week by rats and possums who've taken over my treasured Australian vegetable garden.
They say you should share your garden with the animals, but these pests aren't sharing with me, they're taking everything and leaving nothing for us!
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#growingvegetables #GardeningAustralia #Rats #Possums #VegetableGarden #GardenPests #GardenProblems #Possum - Навчання та стиль
I had the same problem with something eating my produce, particularly rockmelon. I didn’t even think of rats until my neighbour said he had seen one at his place. So hubby set a trap with the remaining rockmelon in it and it caught one 2 nights in a row. They’re so annoying. I know they say just plant extra so there’s enough for everyone but I’m just not up for that - I don’t work hard in the garden to feed rats! 😂 I’ve got a lot of my beds netted now. Good luck, I hope your critters bugger off!!
Yep the "sharing" only works if they get the memo about sharing some with you too! I hope they all leave you alone this season and the netting works for you :)
Take a breath. This is a tough time. You love doing this and will find your garden rewarding again soon
Thanks Stephanie 🙏🏼
Same thing happening here, super frustrating. I bought quite a few wire office rubbish bins for cheap to put over seedlings and little plants as well as netting. They tend to climb under netting. You are busy with baby so might need to take a rest from the garden for the season.
Wire bins are a great idea!
I feel your pain and frustration, had all my cos lettuce and rocket eaten over 2nights!
Argh that’s so annoying!
Oh, my heart goes out to you. Hang in there. I have loved the few videos that I have seen.
Thanks Claire, appreciate the lovely feedback.
I feel your frustration. So disheartening, when you have nurtured your veggies and then this. Hugs
Thanks Anne, needing the hugs at the moment!
Damn. I feel your frustration. All the best with this dire situation
Thank you 😥
It's definitely the time of year for it. I have 2 parsley plants that look like yours. The possums have done a number on them.
Luckily I've got more growing and the possums haven't made it to my raised beds yet.
I've put all my excess brassica seedlings in that same area to grow. Hopefully, that will stop them searching further. That way we all get to eat.
Just regroup and get back into it. You'll come out on top. Cheers! and good luck.
Thanks Gerry! Wishing your parsley plants a speedy recovery - and hope they stay away from your raised bed! 🤞🏼
Never build a raised bed without a protective cover.. learnt this the hard way. Not sure how anyone grows anything without protecting the crop, Ive never had any success doing that!
Netting well secured reduces losses.
Thanks Jill, definitely need to improve and expand my nets!
ohhh no, i would have be heart broken too if i see my garden like this. I heard the onions are good repellant to deter these pests. Try using onion slices around all beds and see if it deters those pests.
That's a great suggestion, I'll give it a go!
This is so devastating, I feel for you and your garden. All your produce was looking so good! Besides all the classic nets, traps and bait suggestions my suggestion would be cat fur as a scent deterrent. If you have a friend or neighbour with a cat ask for some fur in a bag, and you could bundle some up and place around each bed. In combination with some other solutions it could help. I would try to keep it dry and replace it every couple of weeks. Every little thing can help with a problem as hard as rodents.
All worth trying, thanks for your tips!
Christie, do NOT give up on your garden please!!!!!
Just stop, think about it all and seek that solution you need then put it into action. One way is using stakes on each corner and either tie or use bulldog clips on netting to keep it all together and safe (and don't forget covering the top too).
Vasilli's has good netting and he has a good UA-cam channel with links to what he sells.
You will get through it all. :)
Thanks Jim. Definitely worth giving a few things a try. Last night I shoved bananas in the rat holes to at least keep them full while I work out a longer term solution 😂
Gah 😩 so disappointed for you! I would suggest getting wildlife camera to capture what is causing the destruction, where it comes from so you can plan your defence.
We had a fox take 11 chooks a few months back and used a camera from Aldi (yes surprise middle isle find) to determine its pattern and point of entry. Incredibly helpful as we discovered stray cats also going to our chicken coop each night and we have now tackled the problem.
Don’t give up, once there is some rain they may have more food sources.
11 chooks is rough!! Good idea re the camera too. I wonder what they’d cost?
I feel you, I've had to net all mine, 2 possums have moved into are hedge row and are having an all you can eat buffet but the netting has stopped them and things are recovering 👍
Glad to hear the netting has helped! I'll have to up my netting game.
I feel your pain. I have pretty much stopped planting at the moment. Rats have been sooo bad this year. Unfortunately, they will chew through netting, so I'm thinking about how to make coverings out of chicken wire.
How disheartening! Good luck with the chicken wire 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼
That has to be a family of possums because that’s so much even from a possum!
Seriously!
I'm sorry to hear about your unfortunate situation, but you need to know that nothing will improve if you don't do anything about it. We used to get foxes that would pick off our hens on by one during the day (as they were locked up at night), and that didn't stop until we got a dog that bit the foxes ass as it was chased off the property - haven't lost a bird since.
Rats are smart. Smarter than you'd think. You need more than one type of trap (i.e. snap traps, live catch traps or pitfall/bucket traps) to get them sorted. I recommend using peanut butter as bait. I also recommend netting everything over tightly and spraying an oil based chilli repellent on any vulnerable plants. Should work for both possums and rats. You can also legally catch possums that are causing a nuisance, but you're only allowed to release them approx. 200m from where they were caught. You can get live catch traps for cheap off facebook marketplace, gumtree (sometimes), or animal feed stores. Would also like to add that terriers are better than cats at controlling rats or possums if you're considering a pet to keep things away. *Major retailers and hardware stores sell rat traps, just have a look next time you shop.
I understand that things are tough, but you're the one that's got to boot these suckers out before all your left with is rat poop and soil.
Heaps of great suggestions here Matt, thank you!
Don't give up. Parsley will grow back, snow peas will regrow tips. Give the damaged veg some Charlie carp liquid fert. To help them along. Get some nets. Just throw them over and bulldog clip them in place for now. Finesse the nets over time when you have time and energy.
Thanks Charles. Fingers crossed they do grow back 🤞🏼
Nice content but have a problem
Oh Christie…
I wish I had answers but having had losses similar to yours I have thought of planting open air sacrificial plants and tightly netting my others. I’m hoping that’ll mean they eat what is out and leave mine alone under the netting.
I will let you know guys 😊
Sorry to hear you've also fallen victim Mick! Best of luck keeping them away!
I now it's so hard to watch all gone I don't mind if they want some vegetable willing to share but they take everything we have same problem plus Fox digging the garden Im not giving up Happy gardening 😢
Haven’t thought it could be foxes! I’ve definitely seen them in our area before though. Not another animal to contend with! 😑
Not surprised,so sorry,can you do anything? You can get a motion sensor waterer
Motion sensor waterer is a great idea! Thanks!
I lost three zucchini in spring. Rats ate all the flowers. The poor plants never recovered. Never had that happen before.
How disheartening!
I feel your pain..I’ve lost so much this autumn to rodents. I don’t want to poison them because it’s a horrible and violent death for them so I set quick traps and got 8 in 4 days. I hardly got any produce.. thought I’d got them all and lost a lovely green capsicum that I’d been going to harvest. Beans were being eaten while I watched 😢 Grrrrr
Birds are a pain too and are probably the culprit for your peas
S
I hadn’t thought about the birds! Sorry to hear you’ve also been losing produce 😥 I’ve never had any luck with the rat traps but maybe I’m getting the wrong ones - or need to keep trying!
@@ChristieCooper I found these mouse traps in Foodland here in SA…awesome and used peanut butter…first time I’ve had success….
We have these little magpies, called Murray magpies that desimate my plants and love to fly inside if they can😳
yes... but they are plant based eaters and love your dinning table with all the foods... I have the same problems....here in Nsw... its ok... nettting netting netting... sorry but its overwhelming x
Best of luck keeping them off your veggies!
wow brutal, i know how you feel, Id plant a row of seedlings and they trim them all in a night. Ive tried trapping ect.. but rats are too smart. Netting is the only way i have dealt with it. Possums ability to know exactly when things are ripe drive me crazy.
ive had rats ring bark my big passionfruit vine and big hydroponic tomatoes for no reason grrrr
They really do know the exact moment they're ripe, hey! Drives me crazy too! Sorry to hear you've also had a rough time :(
So frustrating. They've been at my lemons Gnawing the skin but stopping when they get to the inside. Such a waste!
So rude of them! They've attacked my lemon tree in the past but for some reason aren't interested in it at the moment!
I feel sad for your vegetable garden and I’ve research about the problem with possum in vegetable garden. I had same problem as your garden and they said to get rid of the possum is make you own stink bomb by using blood and bone fertiliser around the vegetable garden and they dislike the smell of it hopefully should work😊
A great tip, thanks for sharing!
@@ChristieCooper You’re welcome ☺️
I also find Australian possums a real pest, they destroy my large lemon and orange trees as well as take every veggie I grow especially celery, also eat all my rose flowers, grrrrrrrrrr
That’s so interesting! So far they’ve left my celery alone! Hopefully it stays that way 😥
That’s so disheartening. Possums are so distractive. Don’t give up . Have neighbours visit Bunnings vermin be gone.
Thanks Nadia!
I have Wallabies who think they have their very own 5* Gourmet Buffet 🦘
Urgh! Lucky they’re cute!